Gun
enthusiasts often claim that there is no link between legal ownership of
guns and gun crime - legal guns are legal, illegal guns are illegal and,
according to them, never the twain shall meet.

Obviously this is not the case. Apart from the fact that some gun
crimes, including some of the worst such as those at Hungerford and
Dunblane, have been committed by men with their own legally-held guns,
legal gun ownership creates a pool of weapons from which crime weapons
can be obtained through theft and other means. Recently published
figures from the Home Office reveal the extent of a problem which sees
hundreds of guns stolen each year.

The
latest firearms crime statistics (Crime in England and Wales
2003/2004: Supplementary Volume 1) include a section on
Misappropriated Firearms. Although defined as those stolen, obtained by
fraud or forgery etc., or handled dishonestly, it is interesting to note
that the authors of the report consider it appropriate to refer to them
collectively as stolen.

For
each year given in the report (from 1992) over 2500 guns have been
stolen and in four of those years the number rose to over 3000. In the
worst year, 1995, 3915 guns were misappropriated.

Airguns make up a large proportion of the stolen guns, but well over a
thousand guns of other types are stolen each year. Nevertheless,
however powerful the weapon, its misappropriation suggests that, more
likely than not, it is intended for use in criminal activity.

The
bulk of the guns are taken from residential properties (in 2003/2004,
nearly 62% of the total). We assume that since the figures are for
reported misappropriations, the weapons concerned must have been
legally-held at the time of the crime.

The
figures raise a number of concerns.

Appropriate storage: How stringent are the storage facilities
deployed by gun owners in their own home? Gun owners have a duty to
the wider community to do everything possible to stop their weapons
falling into the wrong hands. The numbers of guns stolen from
residential properties and cars suggests that some are failing in this
duty.

Handguns: Although comparatively few of the guns stolen were
handguns, and the number has fallen dramatically since they became
prohibited weapons (305 stolen in 1997, 96 in 2003/2004) GCN is
surprised that any handguns are still available to be stolen. Seventy
four were stolen from residential properties. Handguns are prohibited
weapons, and if those that were stolen were exempt because of their
age, this highlights a loophole which still allows handguns to fall
into criminal hands.

Gun Database: The figures highlight the urgency with which the
National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS) is required. Gun crime can never be tackled
adequately until the provenance of the weapons used is better
understood. The NFLMS would help to establish the exact contribution
made by guns stolen from British gun owners.

How
do criminals get guns?

Since 1992 nearly 40,000 guns have been misappropriated in England and
Wales. It is about time that those who promote gun ownership recognise
that this is a significant problem to which they make an indirect
contribution. They cannot always shift the blame for the availability
of guns used in crime onto other sources such as the illegal importation
of foreign guns. There is a home-grown problem too.